The Space Show
The Space Show
The Space Show focuses on timely and important issues influencing the development of outer-space commerce, space tourism,space exploration and space development. The Space Show is committed to facilitating our becoming a space-faring nation and society with a growing and self-sustaining space-faring economy. The Space Show also focuses on other related subjects of interest to us all.
Station feed:  Created by: David Livingston |
Created on: 12 May 2005 Language: English |
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Rusty Schweickart, Tuesday, 5-1-12 (53.63MB; download) -- Guest: Rusty Schweickart. Topics: Planetary Defense, NEO deflection. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We welcomed back Rusty Schweickart to update us on the latest with planetary defense and NEO risk assessment. Rusty started our discussion with an examining of the asteroid 2011 AG5 which if it goes through the keyhole in 2023, would be likely to hit Earth in 2040. During much of this first segment, our guest explained asteroid orbital issues, the keyhole and why it is so important to understand it, Earth's gravity impact on NEOs, and the different deflection techniques. He talked about the need for a dual mission which would include an observer satellite plus the kinetic impact deflector. The observer satellite would be needed to confirm the hit and if the deflection was sufficient to miss the keyhole. He estimated the cost for such a mission from $500 million to a billion or more! We also learned that the keyhole for AG5 is about 300 KM wide and that is a much easier deflection than trying to do it once AG5 goes through the keyhole. Then we would be looking at a deflection roughly equal to the Earth's diameter of 20,000 km which is a much harder deflection to accomplish requiring significantly more energy and costs. Other issues talked about in this segment included the state of our existing technology to accomplish a deflection, the risks associated with AG5, the issue of who pays for the cost of such a mission, the role of a heavy lift launcher in deflection, and asteroid finding space telescopes. In our second segment, we talked about different scenarios for deflection and the cost of deflection compared to the cost of an evacuation of people from the impact zone. Rusty talked about knowing the impact zone and why we can evaluate this much further in advance of impact than when working with space debris. A listener asked about using a nuclear bomb in space for mitigation. Rusty took us through the nuclear analysis and when as a last resort, a nuke might be needed. In this analysis, he again went over the kinetic impact and then talked about the gravity tractor concept which he said was slow but very precise. In his analysis, he used an interesting analogy to baseball, pitching the fastball, & the point at which the batter must act given the speed of the ball. Don't miss it. We talked more on telescopes and he mentioned the University of Hawaii ATLAS project (www.fallingstar.com). Another important point discussed in this segment was the fact that NASA has no official responsibility to protect us from a hit. We talked about the consequences of this policy, changing the policy to officially give NASA this responsibility, and funding it through the budget process. During our discussion, Rust outlined several steps that listeners could take if interested in this issue. Rusty offered specific recommendations all of us could do that would be beneficial to planetary defense. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. If you want to send Rusty a note, please do so through me. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 02 May 2012 18:08:48 UTC
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Global Space Exploration Conference, Monday, 5-1-12 (30.80MB; download) -- Guests: Bob Dickman, AIAA and Dr. Christian Feichtinger, IAF. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. Please note that there were telephone line audio problems during this program. We welcomed both General Dickman and Dr. Feichtinger to the program to discuss this important conference, The Global Space Exploration Conference sponsored by both the AIAA and IAF. For full conference information, visit their website, http://glex2012.org. Here, you can register, make hotel reservations and plan which programs, tracks, and special events interest you. The conference is May 22-24, 2012 in Washington, DC at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel. Our two guests started our discussion with an overview of the conference and the roles of both the AIAA and IAF in sponsoring the event. We then focused in on the conference theme which is global space exploration and we discussed the Keynote/Plenary speakers and panels. These are listed on the website but a few received special attention. First, there was the discussion with the Heads of the national space agencies for a global perspective on space exploration. We then talked about human exploration, Mars and other destinations in terms of global exploration, plus the panel entitled "Enabling A Political Consensus." Other conference topics we focused on during this hour long program dealt with commercial space, NewSpace, public/private partnerships, and conference logistics. Our guests made sure to point out the Masters with Masters session followed by the Young Professional Reception, both of which are Monday evening. The Masters session is for young professionals, 35 or younger, and is a superb networking event designed for the young space leaders who will go on to be our space leaders in the near future. You can read about this event at http://glex2012.org/social-events. Our guests pointed out the two general events open to everyone, the Tuesday Welcome Reception and Poster Session plus the Wednesday Off-Site Reception at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum. The conference is multi-track so you will need to choose which programs and discussions you want to hear. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. If you have conference specific questions, you can use the Contact page on their website, http://glex2012.org/contact. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 01 May 2012 23:56:28 UTC
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Robert (Bob) Zimmerman, Monday, 4-30-12 (65.78MB; download) -- Guest: Robert (Bob) Zimmerman. Topics: Space X static test, Congress & commercial crew, Planetary Resources & space property rights. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We welcomed Bob Zimmerman back to the program to discuss today's Falcon 9 static test, Congress & commercial crew, and the Planetary Resources announcements of last week. Visit Bob's website for more information, http://behindtheblack.com. During the first segment, Bob talked about congress and its proposed treatment of commercial crew including down selecting the companies, reducing funding, and moving to the FAR instead of remaining with the Space Act Agreement. Bob got lots of questions about markets in space and why commercial companies need government money in the first place. In this segment, we also talked about the Falcon 9 static test today and its relevance for congress. Bob targeted SLS for discussion. As you will hear, there was not much support for SLS among those of us listening to today's program. In the second segment, we talked about the Planetary Resources venture announced last week. Part of our focus was on the 9" space telescope, its likely uses and resolution. We talked about it for asteroid finding and Earth imaging - with serious reservations. Bob suggested that the real business for the company was in selling the space telescopes to customers wanting that product or service as the mining was still a decade or so out into the future. In talking about the telescope, we discussed pointing, stability, resolution, being placed on the Moon, and less than ideal light coming from the asteroids. In talking about space telescopes, we discussed Hubble and the JWST. In other space news updates, Bob talked about Orbital moving Antares to the pad for its testing and there is an article on his blog about it being seriously over budget: www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/orbital-sciences-development-costs-increase-371291. Another topic we discussed was the Chinese political system and its turmoil, also its economy and how this might impact their space program. Bob had much to say about this as well as India and its space program which he said might prove to be the dark horse in space development. Toward the end of this 2 hour 8 minute program, Michael Listner called in to talk about legal issues for Planetary Resources in their resource extraction stage of development, plus property rights, the Outer Space Treaty and even the impact of the Moon Treaty. Bob and Michael had a spirited debate about these issues, including the potential influence of the Moon Treaty and international customary law which Bob completely dismissed. Michael has an excellent article on the subject at www.spacesafetymagazine.com/2012/04/26/commercial-space-leap-earth-orbit-legal-implications/. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. You can reach Bob Zimmerman through his website. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 01 May 2012 03:32:02 UTC
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Dr. John Jurist, Sunday, 4-29-12 (50.88MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. John Jurist. Topics: High altitude sky diving, space vehicle crew escape, free fall from space. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We welcomed Dr. John Jurist back to the program to discuss his latest research dealing with high altitude bail out, space vehicle crew escape, free fall from space, and more. Dr. Jurist introduced us to the subject by talking about the history of experiments and research in the 50's and the 60's for high altitude bail out and the possibility of orbital speed crew escape. He discussed many technical issues and jump/escape parameters so do listen carefully to our entire discussion. Issues we addressed included aerodynamic stability, acceleration, deceleration, turbulence, spinning, heat dissipation, and the need to trust one's equipment. For example, he cited the famous Capt. Joe Kittinger jump as well as the latest effort to surpass the Kittinger jump by Red Bull and Felix Baumgartner. Dr. Jurist discussed the differences in suborbital and orbital bailouts and we discussed the generic escape scenarios for upcoming suborbital flights. John talked about the old Air Force Project Moose program and a listener asked about a free fall from orbital flight, perhaps from the ISS. Dr. Jurist explained how this might happen and what would be needed for the person to deorbit, free fall, return to the atmosphere, and to survive the experience. We also talked about the possibility of entering the atmosphere at too steep an angle and skipping off it with the potential of not ever returning. He said this could not happen. Don't miss this fascinating discussion. In our second segment, Carl asked Dr. Jurist to explain the SR-71 accident that he mentioned in the first segment. This is an amazing story. You can read about the SR-71 incident described by Dr. Jurist at www.916-starfighter.de/SR-71_Waever.htm. When asked for lessons learned, John said always trust your equipment and your training. We talked about cabin pressurization in this segment and John got lots of questions comparing aircraft pressurization systems to those of a space vehicle. This brought up the use of pressure suits, space suits, and possible shirt sleeve environments for space vehicles. Later in this segment, John talked about spinoffs, specifically accident improvement with results showing up in the auto industry with safer cars. Later, he was asked if he thought we were on the right track with HSF crew safety and escape issues and he said we were and that it was an evolutionary process. Near the end of the program in response to a question, he said the most likely failures would take place in the boost phase of the flight. Informed consent was mentioned as an issue to be aware of, then he concluded by saying that people are tough and can survive accidents and catastrophic events with the proper equipment and training. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:37:28 UTC
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The John Batchelor Show "Hotel Mars," Friday, 4-27-12 (4.18MB; download) -- Guests: John Batchelor, Mary Kissel, Dr. David Livingston. Topics: Commercial space, Congress, asteroid mining, space telescopes, entreprenurism. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Written transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. This program is archived on The Space Show website, podcasting, and blog sites with permission from John Batchelor. Please visit the John Batchelor Show website for more information about this fine program, www.johnbatchelorshow.com. The John Batchelor Show broadcast live from Stanford and the Hoover Institution this week and I drove down to do a special Hotel Mars segment Friday evening live in the studio with John and Mary. Our topics were commercial space and crew, Rep. Frank Wolf and the potentially dangerous changes his subcommittee wants to make with regards to commercial crew contracting, downselecting participants, and funding reductions. During our discussion, I offered a public invitation to Rep. Wolf to be a guest on The Space Show to explain the purpose behind and the need for the changes that have been reported and that we have been reading about. If any of you the listeners know Rep. Wolf or have connections in his office, help us get him or one of his top staffers to be a guest on The Space Show. If you want to email either John Batchelor or Mary Kissel, you can do so through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com.
Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Sat, 28 Apr 2012 22:51:57 UTC
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Dr. Lewis Fraas, Friday, 4-27-12 (45.48MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. Lewis Fraas. Topic: Mirrors in space for affordable solar electric power. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We welcomed Dr. Lewis Fraas to the program to discuss his MiraSolar Satellite Concept for mirrors in space for solar electric power. I have posted two of his presentation papers and slides on The Space Show blog for your review. You can find more about his concept by visiting his website, http://jxcrystals.com/lendrupal. At his website, go to the lower right corner for links to MiraSolar. As our discussion addressed common topics throughout our 90 minute program, I'm writing this summary without regard to program segments. We started our discussion by asking Dr. Fraas to provide us with an overview of his mirrors in space concept. This he did, drawing from time to time upon comparisons with space solar power concepts placing their satellites in GEO while the mirrors would be in LEO around 1,000 km. Dr. Fraas made comparisons with SSP and mirrors in space throughout our 90 minute discussion. We talked about optics and physics as well as the power generating size of the ground stations used in his concept, comparing those to nuclear power plants and other power generating facilities. I believe you will find the power comparisons most interesting. We spent a considerable time going over the launch and project economics as well as due diligence from a mostly economic perspective. As you will hear, there are some blanks yet to be filled in but since this project is a decade or so out in the future, it is challenging to project values and costs that far into the future, let alone what launch vehicles we will have along with their flight, payload, and price characteristics. Another important part of the discussion focused on ground stations. Dr. Fraas zeroed them out of the economics when the ground station was built for or was being used for terrestrial solar as the mirrors in space project can make use of the same station. In cases where the mirrors program needs its own ground station, those costs would be factored into the total project costs. Listeners asked about environmental issues, an EIR and its challenges. Dr. Fraas made a point of being clear that this was an international project, not just focused on the U.S. He also suggested that there was a possibility of limiting or restricting U.S. regulations down the road but that other countries might be more interested in mirrors in space, including China, Japan, and India. We had an interesting discussion about the U.S. and the space progress being made in other countries. Tony asked a series of questions pertaining to using more not fewer mirrors for terrestrial solar farms. He also wanted to know the launch price that made the project viable. Dr. Fraas referred to NASA and other studies and cited two reference launch prices. See what you think when you hear this discussion. Another topic dealt with radiation at the orbit Dr. Fraas discussed. Here, we talked about the inner Van Allen belt and thanks to a listener, we got some info on debris issues at the desired orbit. Don't miss this discussion. As we heard, it might be advantageous to shift the orbit to 1200 KM for debris mitigation purposes. Another discussion topic addressed competition with always improving terrestrial forms of energy under development and in the process of coming on line. You can email Dr. Fraas for more information at lfraas@jxcrystals.com. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog and I will be sure to call them to the attention of our guest. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Sat, 28 Apr 2012 17:11:11 UTC
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John Batchelor Show "Hotel Mars" Wednesday, 4-25-12 (4.93MB; download) -- Guests: John Batchelor, Mary Kissel, Rand Simberg, Dr. David Livingston. Topics: Space Property Rights. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. This program is archived on The Space Show website, podcasting, and blog sites with permission from John Batchelor. Please visit the John Batchelor Show website for more information about this fine program, www.johnbatchelorshow.com. The topics in this 11 minute segment focused on private enterprise in space and the establishment of space property rights. We talked about the current situation regarding space property rights, the Outer Space Treaty, Benefit Sharing, The Moon Treaty, and the need to have property rights to support commercial space development. We also talked about Rand's concept, "Homesteading the Final Frontier" which supports the idea of land claims. You can download and read his paper at http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Rand%20Simberg%20%20Homesteading%20the%20Final%20Frontier.pdf. If you have questions or comments, please post them on The Space Show blog. If you would like to send an email to either Mr. Batchelor, Mary Kissel, or Rand Simberg, do so through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com and I will forward it for you. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Thu, 26 Apr 2012 04:43:53 UTC
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Open Lines, Tuesday, 4-24-12 (54.35MB; download) -- Guest: Open Lines with Dr. David Livingston. Topics: asteroid mining, Planetary Resources, Inc. SLS. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We welcomed an Open Lines discussion inviting calls and emails on all space related topics. As it turned out, two topics were primary during the program and as a result of that, I will not summarize this program by segment as I usually do. First, the asteroid mining venture as put forth in the press conference for Planetary Resources, Inc. was primary throughout the program. The second commanding topic was the SLS and Op-Ed in the Houston Chronicle on April 20, 2012 by the JSC former director, Chris Kraft & Tom Moser. You can read the article at www.chron.com/opinion/outlook/article/Space-Launch-System-is-a-threat-to-JSC-Texas-jobs-3498836.php. You can read more about this Op-Ed on Space News at www.spacenews.com/commentaries/120423-fromwires-sls-threat-jsc-jobs.html. Many of the callers throughout the discussion commented on the Op Ed, the SLS, and its future. We also talked about the need for heavy lift, having a specific mission or missions for a rocket, destinations, and a time line for milestone accomplishment. Our first caller was Charles in Las Vegas who commented that he thought Planetary Resources was more "sizzle than steak." Charles was not supportive of a business model relying on secondary payloads. Instead, he said the company had to control its own launch needs. During our three segments, many listeners said they did not agree with Charles, including me. Many of us thought it was possible to use secondary payloads and during our 105 minute program, we covered this subject with the benefits and risks of relying on others, on sole source providers, etc. As for the Op Ed, we talked about it at length, wondered about the NASA lunar study mentioned by Mr. Kraft as well as the existing rockets that could do HSF to the Moon or beyond LEO. The consensus for those calling tonight's show was that SLS in its present format using the current management program will probably be cancelled in 2013 or 2014 despite the support Congress appears to be giving it at this time. Mixed in with the SLS calls, we did talk about the new launch date for the Falcon 9, there was lots of interest in asteroid mining and new technology development to make it happen, plus a few other topics that brought to the listeners attention. When we came back from the final break which was at the 90 minute point, I used the remaining time to highlight some of the special upcoming Space Show programs for the rest of this month into early summer. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. If you want to email any of the callers or those sending in email questions for this program, send your note to me and I will forward it to you. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:55:57 UTC
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Tom Olson, Monday, 4-23-12 (46.69MB; download) -- Guest: Tom Olson. Topic: NewSpace Business Plan Competition, space business opportunities. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We welcomed Tom Olson back to the program to discuss the upcoming NewSpace Business Plan Competition to be held at the NewSpace Conference in Santa Clara, CA from July 26-28, 2012. You can find out more about the competition, the rules, the application, as well as the tools you can use in applying at http://newspacebpc.com. Tom began our discussion by talking about the new tools available to help contestants, all of which are on the business plan website. He also said there were three general categories for applicants: (1) space projects; (2) space related projects; (3) space scalable. He defined these three categories during our entire interview. One point he made that was different from past years is that the business must be owned at least 51% U.S. citizen owned as NASA is funding the prize money. First prize will be $100K and second prize from a NASA grant will be $10K. The plans are for up to ten Executive Summaries being selected for Boot Camp and the final competition. During the balance of our first segment discussion, Tom talked about the rules, ideas of business opportunities, contestant requirements, and then he introduced us to stem cell 2D Bio Printers, 3D printers and the material Graphene. Toward the end of the first segment, questions came in about the trillion dollar asteroid concept along with asteroid mining. In the second segment, Tom continued answering questions about the qualifications for contestants such as if a one person business was acceptable plus there were inquiries about partnerships with NASA and other public entities. I mentioned an email I had received inquiring if the asteroid mining project in the news was the start of "Robber Barons" in space. Tom had much to say about this. Toward the end, Tom was asked about a Space X Texas spaceport and he brought up sponsorships for the competition. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. If you have questions for Tom, email businessplan@spacefrontier.org. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:54:02 UTC
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Doug Jones, Sunday, 4-22-12 (52.11MB; download) -- Guest: Doug Jones. Topics: XCOR Aerospace and the Lynx. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We welcomed Doug Jones to the program to update us on XCOR Aerospace, the Lynx suborbital vehicle, rocket engines, and more. Doug is a co-founder of XCOR. You can find out more about the company at their website, www.xcor.com. Doug started us off with a brief history of XCOR from the beginning to today. After this historical overview, I brought up an email question from Andy in the UK about a scaled up version of the Lynx engine for a version of ULA's Centaur upper space or space tug. Doug had much to say about the ULA space tug idea in response to the listener question. Doug then talked about the Lynx suborbital vehicle and the various versions of it, the Mark 1, Mark 2, and Mark 3. He was asked if XCOR was planning to do anything with the newly announced Planetary Resources venture yet to be described. He did say there were ways XCOR could be supportive of some aspects of a deep space mission. Doug addressed crew exit from the Lynx and described the seat lifter, using a parachute, and the exit strategy plus Lynx training before the flight. Near the end of the first segment, Tony asked about Doug's earlier comments regarding the nonburnite tank and Harry inquired about different pricing for the various Lynx vehicle versions. We opened the second segment with a call from Jon in Jersey City regarding manufacturing and pricing targets with Space X as well as relating to XCOR. Doug talked about production lines and more or less mass producing parts for the benefit of commodity pricing. Bill from Virginia sent in a note asking about the relationship of test burn times to an operational flight with much longer burn times. He wondered if short test burn times for the engines and systems was enough. We also talked about the flight test program and backup vehicles. Tony called in and wanted to know about the possibility of bringing back the Rotary Rocket engine. Doug had some interesting comments on this issue. The flight test program came up again and our guest provided us with a basic idea of how the test program would unfold. ITAR was a big subject in this segment as were several listener questions dealing with piston and pressure pumps for XCOR engines. Toward the end, we talked about spacesuits, 3D printers, vertical integration for manufacturing, and the Lynx serving as a space taxi vehicle, not a rental car. This latter point was made when Doug was asked about independent operators buying and flying the Lynx as compared to XCOR flying and operating the Lynx. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:22:46 UTC
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